1 Preschoolers Identified as Having Autism: Characteristics, Services, and Achievement Elaine Carlson and Amy Shimshak, Westat OSEP National Early Childhood

1

Preschoolers Identified as Having Autism: Characteristics, Services,

and Achievement

Elaine Carlson and Amy Shimshak, Westat

OSEP National Early Childhood ConferenceWashington, DC

December 12, 2005

PEELS is funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Special Education Research

2

Overview

• PEELS is following 3,100 children with disabilities from preschool into their early elementary years

• Children were 3 through 5 years old at entry into the study (and 1st data collection)

• PEELS will examine children’s – preschool experiences and outcomes– transition to kindergarten– early elementary school experiences and

outcomes

3

Sampling

• Nationally representative sample of 223 LEAs

• LEAs stratified by– Enrollment size– Geographic region– Wealth

4

Data collection

• 5 waves between 2004 and 2009

• Wave 1 included:– Family Telephone Interview (N = 2,800)

– Direct Child Assessment (N = 2,792)• 13 subtests

– Mail Questionnaires • Teachers/service providers (N = 2,084)

• SEA administrators (N = 51)

• LEA administrators (N = 196)

• Principals/program directors (N = 895)

5

Profile of Primary Disabilities among Children with Disabilities

Ages 3-5Speech or language impairments 49%

Developmental delay 27%

Autism 7%

Mental retardation 4%

Learning disabilities 2%

Other health impairments 2%

Orthopedic impairments 2%

Emotional disturbance 1%

Other disabilities 6%

6

Characteristics of preschoolers identified as

having autism• Compared to preschoolers identified

as having other disabilities, those with autism

• were disproportionately male,• had similar racial/ethnic backgrounds,• had similar household incomes,• had mothers with similar levels of education,• were as likely to have been premature, and• were more likely to have had concerns

raised about their development between 12 and 35 months.

7

Preschoolers’ demographic characteristics

Autism Other Disabilities

Gender*Male 84% 69%

Race/ethnicityHispanicBlackWhite

30%14%56%

22%10%67%

Household income$20,000 or less$20,001-$30,000$30,001-$40,000$40,001-$50,000>$50,000

20%16%11%13%40%

28%16%12%10%33%

*p < .05These data are preliminary. Final Wave 1 data will be available in winter 2005. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Special Education Research, Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study, “Parent Interview,” Wave 1 Restricted Use Data, January 2005

8

Preschoolers’ demographic characteristics, con’t.

Autism Other disabilities

Mother’s education< H.S. diplomaH.S. diplomaSome college4-year degree+

16%30%29%25%

20%39%29%21%

Prematurity3+ weeks early 24% 24%

These data are preliminary. Final Wave 1 data will be available in winter 2005. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Special Education Research, Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study, “Parent Interview,” Wave 1 Restricted Use Data, January 2005

9

Age at which concerns first expressed


10

Communication skills

• Compared to preschoolers with other disabilities, those identified as having autism

– From parent interviews• were less likely to use words to communicate,

• demonstrated fewer expressive and receptive language skills, and

• had more difficulty making their needs known.

11

Preschoolers’ primary methods of communication

Primarily communicate using


Spoken Words*

• Single words• 2-3 word utterances• Complete sentences

56%7%

54%39%

81%3%

30%67%

Other ways 44% 19%

*p < .05These data are preliminary. Final Wave 1 data will be available in winter 2005. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Special Education Research, Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study, “Parent Interview,” Wave 1 Restricted Use Data, January 2005

12

Preschoolers’ articulation

When talking with people they don’t know, they are…


Very easy to understand 8% 11%

Fairly easy to understand

13% 30%

Somewhat hard to understand 41% 42%

Very hard to understand 38% 18%

p < .05


13

Preschoolers’ understanding of verbal and nonverbal

communicationAutism Other disabilities

As well as other children 7% 54%

Have a little trouble

47% 35%

Have a lot of trouble 47% 11%

p < .05


14

Preschoolers’ ability to make needs known


As well as other children

14% 51%

Have a little trouble 50% 36%

Have a lot of trouble

36% 12%

p < .05These data are preliminary. Final Wave 1 data will be available in winter 2005. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Special Education Research, Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study, “Parent Interview,” Wave 1 Restricted Use Data, January 2005

15

Behavior and social skills

• Compared to preschoolers identified as having other disabilities, those identified as having autism – From teacher rating scales

• displayed more problem behaviors and• exhibited less well-developed social skills.

– From parent interviews • were more challenging to manage and • had a harder time paying attention, managing

change, and playing with other children.

16

Preschoolers’ mean scores on various social behavior scales


Mean Mean

PKBS Social Skills* 73.2 93.4PKBS Problem Behaviors*

109.5 97.5

ABAS Self-Care* 4.9 7.9

ABAS Self-Direction* 5.6 8.6

*p < .05

NOTE: The higher the score on PKBS Problem Behaviors, the higher the level of problem behaviors. The scaled score mean for ABAS Self-Care and Self-Direction is 10.

These data are preliminary. Final Wave 1 data will be available in winter 2005. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Special Education Research, Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study, “Early Childhood Teacher Questionnaire,” “Kindergarten Teacher Questionnaire,” and “Adaptive Behavior Assessment System – Second Edition (ABAS II) Teacher/Daycare Provider Form: Self-Care and Self-Direction,” Wave 1 Restricted Use Data, January 2005.

.

17

Percentage of preschoolers with scores in each decile on PKBS social skills scale

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Children identifi ed as having

autism


other disabilitiesThese data are preliminary. Final Wave 1 data will be available in winter 2005. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Special Education Research, Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study, “Early Childhood Teacher Questionnaire” and “Kindergarten Teacher Questionnaire,” Wave 1 Restricted Use Data, January 2005.

18

Percentage of preschoolers with scores in each decile on PKBS problem behaviors

scale

0

5

10

15

20

25


autism


other disabilities

These data are preliminary. Final Wave 1 data will be available in winter 2005. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Special Education Research, Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study, “Early Childhood Teacher Questionnaire” and “Kindergarten Teacher Questionnaire,” Wave 1 Restricted Use Data, January 2005.

19

Appropriateness of preschoolers’ behavior


Typical for his/her age

17% 61%

Mildly inappropriate

26% 23%

Moderately inappropriate

42% 12%

Severely inappropriate

15% 4%

p < .05


20

Parents’ ability to manage behavior


Easy to manage 14% 37%

Sometimes hard to manage

51% 50%

Often hard to manage

35% 13%

p < .05


21

Preschoolers’ ability to pay attention and stay focused


Good at paying attention

10% 31%

Somewhat good at paying attention

39% 42%

Not good at paying attention

51% 28%

p < .05


22

Preschoolers’ ability to adjust to change

Adjusting to changes poses…


A great deal of difficulty

52% 25%

Some difficulty 32% 34%

No difficulty 16% 41%

p < 0.05


23

Preschoolers’ ability to play with other children


No trouble 13% 59%

Some trouble 46% 33%

A lot of trouble 42% 8%

p < 0.05


24

Preschoolers’ participation in group activities


At least once a month

37% 51%


25

Cognitive skills and pre-academic achievement

• From parent interviews

– Cognitive skills of preschoolers identified as having autism lagged behind those of preschoolers identified as having other disabilities.

• From direct child assessment

– Preschoolers identified as having autism scored higher than preschoolers identified as having other disabilities on the WJ Letter-Word subtest but lower on other pre-academic assessments.

26

Preschoolers’ ability to learn, think, and solve problems

Compared to children the same age…


Better 15% 11%

As well 12% 45%

Slightly less well 39% 32%

Much less well 35% 13%

p < .05


27

Preschoolers’ pre-academic assessment scores


Mean Mean

W-J III Letter Word 108.8 97.4

W-J III Applied Problems

80.7 90.6

PPVT 88.2 90.0

These data are preliminary. Final Wave 1 data will be available in winter 2005. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Special Education Research, Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study, “Woodcock-Johnson III: Letter-Word and Applied Problems,” and “Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test,” Wave 1 Restricted Use Data, January 2005.

.

28

Percentage of preschoolers with autism scoring in each decile on

Woodcock-Johnson III: Letter-Word

These data are preliminary. Final Wave 1 data will be available in winter 2005. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Special Education Research, Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study, “Woodcock-Johnson III: Letter-Word,” Wave 1 Restricted Use Data, January 2005.

0

5

10

15

20

25


autism


other disabilities

29

Percentage of preschoolers with autism scoring in each decile on Woodcock-Johnson III: Applied

Problems

These data are preliminary. Final Wave 1 data will be available in winter 2005. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Special Education Research, Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study, “Woodcock-Johnson III: Applied Problems,” Wave 1 Restricted Use Data, January 2005.

0

10

20

30

40

50


autism


other disabilities

30

Percentage of preschoolers with autism scoring in each decile on

PPVT

These data are preliminary. Final Wave 1 data will be available in winter 2005. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Special Education Research, Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study, “Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test,” Wave 1 Restricted Use Data, January 2005.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80


autism


other disabilities

31

Variation in pre-academic and social behavior scores

• Pre-academic scores sometimes varied by – ability to understand verbal or non-verbal

communication– ability to make needs known– ability to think, learn, and solve problems

• Social behavior scores sometimes varied by– ability to think, learn, and solve problems– ability to understand verbal or non-verbal

communication– ability to make needs known

32

Mean scores for preschoolers identified as having autism on pre-academic

assessments based on ability to understand verbal or nonverbal communication

WJ IIILetter-Word

WJ IIIApplied

Problems*PPVT*

Understands as well as other children

105.4 98.7 103.6

Has a little trouble understanding

112.1 87.2 85.9

Has a lot of trouble understanding

113.0 77.7 86.1

* p < .05These data are preliminary. Final Wave 1 data will be available in winter 2005. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Special Education Research, Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study, “Woodcock-Johnson III: Letter-Word and Applied Problems,” “Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test,” and “Parent Interview,” Wave 1 Restricted Use Data, January 2005

33

Mean scores for preschoolers identified as having autism on pre-academic

assessments based on ability to make their needs known

WJ IIILetter-Word

WJ IIIApplied Problems

PPVT*

Communicates as well as other children

107.4 94.9 92.0

Has a little trouble communicating

112.7 85.7 89.3

Has a lot of trouble communicating

112.5 69.4 76.6

*p < .05These data are preliminary. Final Wave 1 data will be available in winter 2005. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Special Education Research, Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study, “Woodcock-Johnson III: Letter-Word and Applied Problems,” “Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test,” and “Parent Interview,” Wave 1 Restricted Use Data, January 2005

34

Mean scores for preschoolers identified as having autism on pre-academic assessments

based on ability to think, learn and solve problems

Compared to peersWJ III

Letter-Word

WJ IIIApplied

ProblemsPPVT*

Better 121.4 86.8 97.6

As well 111.5 94.7 95.0

Slightly less well 112.5 84.8 84.3

Much less well 99.1 76.4 79.3

*p < .05These data are preliminary. Final Wave 1 data will be available in winter 2005. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Special Education Research, Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study, “Woodcock-Johnson III: Letter-Word and Applied Problems,” “Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test,” and “Parent Interview,” Wave 1 Restricted Use Data, January 2005

35

Mean scores for preschoolers identified as having autism on social behavior scales based on ability to think, learn and solve

problemsCompared to children the same age…

PKBS Problem Behavior

s

PKBS Social Skills*

ABAS Self-

Direction*

ABAS Self-Care

Better 107.2 96.6 9.2 6.9

As well 103.4 91.6 8.5 8.0

Slightly less well 107.3 87.2 7.1 6.2

Much less well 110.2 82.5 7.5 5.4

*p < .05These data are preliminary. Final Wave 1 data will be available in winter 2005. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Special Education Research, Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study, “Early Childhood Teacher Questionnaire,” “Kindergarten Teacher Questionnaire,” “Adaptive Behavior Assessment System – Second Edition (ABAS-II) Teacher/Daycare Provider Form: Self-Care and Self-Direction,” and “Parent Interview,” Wave 1 Restricted Use Data, January 2005

36

Mean scores for preschoolers identified as having autism on social behavior assessments based on ability to understand verbal or nonverbal

communicationPKBS

Problem Behaviors

PKBS Social Skills*

ABAS Self-

Direction*

ABAS Self-Care*

Understands as well as other children

96.7 103.1 9.5 9.0

Has a little trouble understanding

109.8 91.9 8.2 6.7

Has a lot of trouble understanding

107.1 79.9 6.8 5.3*p < .05These data are preliminary. Final Wave 1 data will be available in winter 2005. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Special Education Research, Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study, “Early Childhood Teacher Questionnaire,” “Kindergarten Teacher Questionnaire,” “Adaptive Behavior Assessment System – Second Edition (ABAS-II) Teacher/Daycare Provider Form: Self-Care and Self-Direction,” and “Parent Interview,” Wave 1 Restricted Use Data, January 2005

37

Mean scores for preschoolers identified as having autism on social behavior

assessments based on ability to make their needs known

PKBS Problem

Behaviors

PKBS Social Skills*

ABAS Self-

Direction*

ABAS Self-Care*

Communicates as well as other children

103.2 105.1 9.4 7.5

Has a little trouble communication

108.5 87.8 7.8 6.5

Has a lot of trouble communicating

106.5 78.1 6.8 5.4

*p < .05These data are preliminary. Final Wave 1 data will be available in winter 2005. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Special Education Research, Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study, “Early Childhood Teacher Questionnaire,” “Kindergarten Teacher Questionnaire,” “Adaptive Behavior Assessment System – Second Edition (ABAS-II) Teacher/Daycare Provider Form: Self-Care and Self-Direction,” and “Parent Interview,” Wave 1 Restricted Use Data, January 2005

38

Child find

• 50% of preschoolers identified as having autism had an IFSP before age 3 compared to 38% of preschoolers identified as having other disabilities.

• On average, preschoolers identified as having autism were 30 months old when services began compared to 32 months for preschoolers identified as having other disabilities.

39

Services

• Compared to preschoolers identified as having other disabilities, those identified as having autism – received more hours a week of service and

more of their services in special education settings and at home

– were more likely to receive a variety of services, including…

• Occupational therapy

• Behavior management

• Augmentative communication

• Assistive technology

40

For children in kindergarten and preschool classes, hours a week in various settings


Mean Median Mean Median

Total hours/week of service* 20 19 17 13

Hours/week in regular education* 4 0 8 1

Hours/week in special education* 14 13 8 5

Hours/week in home instruction* 1 0 0.1 0

*p < .05Total hours of service does not equal the sum of hours spent in regular education, special education, and home instruction because other service settings were not included here due to their small means and medians.These data are preliminary. Final Wave 1 data will be available in winter 2005. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Special Education Research, Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study, “Early Childhood Teacher Questionnaire,” and “Kindergarten Teacher Questionnaire,” Wave 1 Restricted Use Data, January 2005

41

Services preschoolers received


Speech therapy 88% 89%

Occupational therapy* 70% 32%

Behavior management* 43% 13%

Learning strategies 39% 29%

Augmentative communication *

35% 8%

Assistive technology * 25% 10%

*p < .05These data are preliminary. Final Wave 1 data will be available in winter 2005. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Special Education Research, Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study, “Early Childhood Teacher Questionnaire,” and “Kindergarten Teacher Questionnaire,” Wave 1 Restricted Use Data, January 2005

42

PEELS Web Site

www.peels.org

Documents

1 Preschoolers Identified as Having Autism: Characteristics, Services, and Achievement Elaine Carlson and Amy Shimshak, Westat OSEP National Early Childhood